In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems have been deployed onboard aircraft to provide entertainment, such as movies, television, audio entertainment programming, electronic games, and other electronic content to passengers. IFE, systems are increasingly using Bluetooth networks to interconnect seat video display units (SVDUs) to wireless user terminals that can be operated by passengers. Such user terminals can include wireless passenger control units (WPCUs) supplied as aircraft equipment and include passenger electronic devices (PEDs) that are transported onto the aircraft by the passengers. PEDs can include cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, wireless headphones, etc. Passengers can operate the user terminals to select content for playback through display devices and/or speakers within or connected to the SVDUs. Wireless headphone type PEDs can receive audio content through Bluetooth connections to respectively paired SVDUs.
The proliferation of such wireless equipment operating simultaneously and with unsynchronized use of shared radio resources within an aircraft cabin, can result in levels of communication interference that degrade or intermittently prevent operation of the IFE system. For example, hundreds of wireless Bluetooth transceivers within SVDUs, WPCUs, cellular phones, tablet computers, headphones, etc. can be simultaneously transmitting and thereby interfering with each other's communications.